Load-bearing industrial pallet



Nov. 7, 1967 DAVIDSON 3,351,028

LOAD-BIJARING INDUSTRIAL PALLET Filed July 9, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 AT TORNEYS L. DAVIDSON Nov. 7, 1967 LOAD-BEARING I NDUSTRIAL PALLET 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 9, 1963 INVENTOR.

BY W m AT TOR NE Y5 1967 DAVIDSON LOAD-BEARING INDUSTRIAL PALLET 4 Sheets-$heet 3 Filed July 9, 1963 nr-romvvs Nov. 7, 1967 L. DAVIDSON LOAD-BEARING INDUSTRIAL PALLET 4 Sheets-$heet 4 Filed July 9, 1963 I INVENTOR BY M QQQQGQ ATTORNEYS.

FIG. 32. 04

United States Patent 3,351,028 LOAD-BEARING INDUSTRIAL PALLET Louis Davidson, 24 Waterview Road, Oceanside, N.Y. 11572 Filed July 9, 1963, Ser. No. 293,782 11 Claims. (Cl. 108-56) This invention relates to industrial pallets and more especially to pallets which are so constructed that they can be made of material such as corrugated paperboard, solid fiberboard, plastic, metal or combinations of these materials.

One object of the invention is to provide a pallet construction having a plurality of legs with each leg made of panels extending and converging downwardly, but constructed so as to obtain a larger bearing area for contact with an underlying support. One embodiment of the invention has a shoe assembly at the lower ends of the legs, and others have panels of the legs folded in such a way as to increase the area of contact. This construction can be made with shoe assemblies that increase the bearing areas of the legs to any desired extent for pallets that are to be stacked on the loads of underlying pallets. Such a construction is especially useful where the pallets are employed for carrying stacks of boxes, and two or more loaded pallets are stacked upon one another for shipping or storage.

Another object is to increase the strength of the pallet legs. This is done by increasing the width of the legs and extending them under imperforate areas of the platform, and in other modifications by giving the panels a transverse curvature to stiffen them.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 862,138, filed Dec. 28, 1959, now US. Patent No. 3,099,969.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of a pallet having legs constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view through the pallet of FIGURE 1 on the line 33 of FIGURE 1 but before the leg and end panels are bent into angular relation in the pallet platform;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1 showing the panels in set-up position;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged top plan view of the shoe assembly, shown in FIGURE 3, before the tab of the shoe assembly has been bent upwardly;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, but showing a modified construction, the section being taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view, similar to FIGURE 3 but showing a modified construction in which the leg is a different piece from the pallet platform;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary sectional view, showing another modified construction, the section being taken on the line 7-7 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURES 8-10 are other fragmentary sectional views showing modified constructions for the lower ends of the legs;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a construction similar to FIGURE 5 but with different tabs at the upper ends of the panels;

FIGURE 12 is a top plan View of a portion of a pallet made in accordance with this invention but with a continuous leg which is a separate piece from the pallet platform;

3,351,028 Patented Nov. 7, 1967 FIGURES 13, 14 and 15 are enlarged, sectional views taken on the lines 13-13, 14-14, and 15-15, respectively, of FIGURE 12;

FIGURE 16 is a sectional view showing a modification of the construction of FIGURES 12-15;

FIGURE 17 is a fragmentary top plan view of a pallet with panels for a modified form of leg displaced from the material of the platform;

FIGURE 18 and FIGURE 19 are enlarged, sectional views taken on the lines 1818 and 1919, respectively, of FIGURE 17 but with the leg in set-up condition;

FIGURE 20 is a fragmentary top plan view similar to FIGURE 17, but showing another modification of the invention;

FIGURE 21 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 21-21 of FIGURE 20 but with the leg in set-up condition;

FIGURE 22 is a fragmentary top plan view of a pallet platform with panels formed from the platform and constructed to fold against one another with some panels in vertical positions;

FIGURE 23 is a sectional view on the line 23-23 of FIGURE 22, but with the panels folded into operative position;

FIGURE 24 is a fragmentary top plan view of a platform with panels severed therefrom in such relation as to fold back and forth against one another to form a substantially solid leg;

FIGURE 25 is a sectional view showing the panels of FIGURE 24 in operative position, the section being taken at the line 25-25;

FIGURE 26 is a view similar to FIGURE 24 but showing another modified form of the invention; and

FIGURE 27 is a sectional view on the line 2727 of FIGURE 26;

FIGURE 28 is a fragmentary plan view of a pallet embodying another modified form of the invention;

FIGURE 29 is a plan view of a leg which is used on the pallet shown in FIGURE 28, this view showing the leg before it is folded for insertion into the cutouts of FIGURE 28;

FIGURE 30 is a sectional view taken along the line 30-30 of FIGURE 28;

FIGURE 31 is a section taken on the line 31-31 of FIGURE 28; and

FIGURES 32 and 33 are fragmentary views showing modified construction for the locking tabs shown in FIG- URE 28.

FIGURE 1 shows a pallet 15 having a platform 16 with a plurality of spaced legs for supporting it from an underlying surface. All of these legs may be of similar construction, but in the drawing different legs are made with different constructions so as to illustrate various modifications of the invention.

One preferred construction is shown in the upper lefthand portion of the platform 16, and this construction is shown in section in FIGURES 2 and 3. A leg 20 is formed with a center portion 21 which constitutes a part of the load-bearing area of the platform 16. The leg has two panels 23 and 24 formed of the material of the platform by cutting through the material along the solid lines shown in FIGURE 1.

These panels 23 and 24 remain connected to the platform, and more especially to the center portion 21, along hinge lines 26 and 27.

In order to facilitate the bending of the panels 23 and 24 downwardly and inwardly toward their lower ends, the material of the platform 16 is cut part way through at the hinge lines 26 and 27, and material is crushed or removed from the bottom face of the platform 16 at the hinge lines to provide clearance for the upper parts of a the panels 23 and 24 as the panels swing angularly about the hinge lines 26 and 27, respectively. The regions from which material is crushed or removed are indicated by the reference characters 29 in FIGURE 2.

In order to make the pallet 15 suitable for use with the loads made up of odd, random or small size pieces, the pallet can be constructed as a tray or box. FIGURE 2 shows a panel 30 which can be folded upwardly along a hinge line 31, to form a side of the pallet, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 3. A side wall panel 30 can be pro-- vided along three sides of the platform to make the platform the bottom of a bin, or on four sides to make the platform the bottom of -a box.

When the pallet is to be used for small pieces, that might fall through the openings left by the displacement of the panels 23 and 24, and other panels, from the platform 16, a panel 33 is used to cover the opening in the platform as shown in FIGURES 3 and 5.

The panels 23 :and 24 are displaced from the platform 16, and swung downwardly through an angle in excess of 90 so that these panels converge and have their free ends adjacent to one another at the bottom of the leg, as shown in FIGURE 3.

At the lower end of the leg 20, there is a shoe assembly 32 consisting of a preferably flat element 34 having a tab 36 displaced from it and bent upwardly at a hinge line 38. This tab 36 extends along one of the leg panels, and is shown along the leg panel 24 in FIGURE 3.

The shoe assembly is attached to the lower portion of the leg 20 by fastening means. The construction shown in FIGURE 3 has a staple 40 extending through the tab 36 and through the lower portions of both of the leg panels 23 and 24. Thus, the staple 40 not only attaches the shoe assembly to the lower end of the leg 20, but it also connects the panels 23 and 24 together. It will be apparent that the shoe assembly 32 provides a substantial increase in the area of the bottom end of the leg 20 so that the unit pressure exerted by the leg on any underlying surface is materially reduced. The shoe assembly 32 is preferably somewhat longer than the leg 20 and the tab 36 may be of the same length as the leg 20, or shorter.

FIGURE shows a modified construction in which the leg is made with panels 23 and 24 which are the same as in FIGURES 2 and 3. These panels are bent downwardly and their lower ends are brought together in the same way as already described, but a different kind of shoe assembly is used in FIGURE 5.

In this FIGURE 5 construction a shoe assembly 42 is made with other panels 43 and 44 which overlie the panels 23 and 24, respectively, and which preferably extend for some distance beyond the ends of these leg panels 23 and 24, as shown in FIGURE 1. These other panels 43 :and 44 are connected together by a bridging portion 46 (FIGURE 5), of one-piece construction with the panels 43 and 44 and of sufficient 'width to bridge the space under the leg panels 23 and 24 when the leg is in set-up condition.

Upper edges 45 of the shoe assembly 42 are flush with the top surface of the pallet platform 16 and have their opposite ends extend into slots 47 (FIGURE 1) in the platform. This prevents spreading of the shoe assembly. For holding the shoe assembly in a fixed relation to the pallet platform and the leg, there are top tabs 48. These top tabs 48 are beyond the ends of the openings in the platform from which the leg panels 23 and 24 were displaced. It is necessary, therefore, to have openings 50 in the platform 16 for receiving the top tabs 48. The shoe assembly 42 can be made continuous across several legs and across the full length of the pallet, if desired.

When bringing the leg into set-up condition, as shown in FIGURE 5, the top tabs 46 and 48 are bent to bring them into horizontal position-s overlying portions of the load-supporting area of the platform 16 so that the load on the platform will clamp the top tabs 48 against the 4 surface of the platform and thus firmly hold the shoe assembly in position.

FIGURE 6 shows another modified construction in which a leg 56 is a different piece from the platform 16. This leg 56 has a center portion 57, and panels 58 and 59, all of which are preferably similar to the center portion 21 and panels 23 and 24 of FIGURES 2 and 3, except that no portion of the leg is made of material displaced from the platform 16. The center portion 57 of the leg 56 is attached to the platform 16 by staples 60 which are merely representative of fastening means for holding the center portion 57 in position against the bottom of the platform 16. FIGURE 6 shows the leg 56 without any shoe assembly at its lower end, but it will be understood that any of the shoe assemblies shown in the other figures can be used for the separate leg construction illustrated in FIGURE 6. The shoe may be omitted and the panels 56 and 59 stapled together.

FIGURE 7 shows another modified leg construction in which leg panels 73 and 74, which are displaced from the platform 16, are held together at their lower ends by a shoe assembly 76 formed of material extending from the ends of the panel 74. The material of this shoe assembly 76 is preferably crushed so as to bend more easily around the lower end of the leg. The shoe assembly 76 includes a panel portion 77 extending upwardly along the outside of the panel 73 and includes also a bridge portion 78 which extends across the bottom of the leg. The lower end of the leg is held together by fastening means consisting of adhesive 79 bonding the shoe assembly 76 to the panel 73. A staple can be substituted for the adhesive.

The shoe assembly 76 is of one-piece construction with the panel 74 and is displaced from the platform 16, the original positions of the different parts of the shoe assembly being indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 8 shows another modified construction with leg panels 83 and 84, preferably displaced from the platform, attached to a shoe assembly 86 that bridges the lower ends of the panels 83 and 84. The shoe assembly 86 has a fiat bottom plate portion 87 attached to a channel 88 by a staple 89 or other fastening means.

The side walls of the channel 88 preferably converge at the same angle as the panels 83 and 84, and the channel is attached to the panels 83 and 84 by staples 90. These staples, by connecting both panels 83 and 84 to the common channel 88, also connect the panels to each other.

FIGURE 9 shows panels 93 and 94 connected with a shoe assembly 96 consisting of a channel having no bottom plate. The side walls of the shoe assembly 96 converge to fit against the panels 93 and 94, and are fastened to them by fastening means such as adhesive 97. The shoe assembly 96 has a bridge portion 98 which extends across the bottom of the leg. While the shoe assembly 96 of FIGURE 9, and the shoe assemblies 42 and 76 of FIGURES 5 and 7, respectively, increase the bottom area of the leg to some extent, they do not provide the large increase in area which is obtained from the shoe assemblies 32 and 86 of FIGURES 3 and 8, respectively.

FIGURE 10 shows another modified construction in which leg panels 103 and 104 fit into a channel of a shoe assembly 106. This shoe assembly includes a channel portion with outwardly extending flanges for increasing the bearing area at the bottom of the shoe assembly 106. In the construction illustrated in FIGURE '10, the shoe assembly 106 is made of a single piece of relatively Stiff material bent as shown to provide the sides of the channel and the flanges. This shoe assembly 106 is attached to the panels 103 and 104 by adhesive 110, or by other fastening means.

If required for additional bearing surface, the shoes shown in FIGURES 3, 5, 8, 9 and 10 can be made continuous across several legs or the full length of the pallet.

The platform of the pallet shown in the drawing may be madeof corrugated paperboard, and for greater strength, when needed, a multi-ply, corrugated paperboard is used. The removal or crushing of material at the hinge lines, as at the regions 29 in FIGURE 2, makes it practical to use multi-ply, corrugated paperboard even though the board has considerable bulk. The invention is not limited to such material, and may also be made of solid fiberboard, plastic, metals, or other materials, resorting to corrugated constructions where great strength with light weight and low cost are desirable.

The shoe assemblies at the lower end of the legs can be made of the same kind of material as the legs, but are not necessarily made of such material, and since the shoe assemblies are subject to less strain, they are ordinarily made of thinner material than the platform and may be of single sheets even though the platform is made with a corrugated construction. It will be understood that score lines are employed in the material of the shoe assembly when necessary to obtain a sharp bend.

FIGURE 11 shows a construction similar to FIGURE with panels 23 and 24 formed of material displaced from the pallet platform 16. However, the shoe in FIG- URE 11 is of different construction at its upper end. It has panels 43 and 44' extending upwardly across the outside surfaces of the panels 23 and 24 of the leg; and it has a connecting portion 46 at its lower end for contact with the ground or other supporting surface. At the upper ends of the panels 43 and 44' there are tabs 111 and 112 which are continuous along the entire length of the top edges of the shoe panels. This construction with continuous tabs can be used in FIGURE 11 because the tabs 111 and 112 bend inwardly across the portion of the platform which is left intact between the cut-out areas from which material is displaced to form the panels 23 and 24. As in the other constructions, the tabs 111 and 112 are held in position by the weight of the load on the pallet and may also be held in position by adhesive so as to prevent movement of the tabs when there is no load on the platform.

FIGURE 12 shows a construction having a continuous leg 116 for supporting one end of the platform. Similar continuous legs, parallel to the legs 116, are used at other parts of the platform. Such a leg cannot be formed from material displaced from the platform because the openings left by the cut-out material would sever different areas of the platform from one another.

' The relation and connection of the leg 116 to the platform 16 is shown clearly in FIGURES 13, 14 and 15. The leg itself is made of two panels 118 and 119 connected together along a hinge line formed by a connecting portion 120. At this connecting portion 121) the material may be crushed or scored or parts of the material removed in order to permit the panels 118 and 119 to be moved into angular relation with one another as shown in FIGURES l4 and 15.

. Along a portion of the length of the leg 116, tabs 122 extend through openings in the platform 16; and these tabs are bent downwardly parallel to the top surface of the platform so that the load on the platform will rest upon them and prevent their displacement. They may also be held in place by adhesive as in the other constructions already described. The material from which the leg 116 is made is preferably crushed or otherwise made thinner where it forms the tabs 122.

At other locations along the length of the leg 116, there are top edges 124 (FIGURE of the panels 118 and 119, in contact with the bottom surface of the platform 16. These top edges 124 support the platform 16 by direct contact with the bottom surface of the platform.

At other locations along the length of the leg 116, the panels 118 and 119 have top edges 126 which are slightly higher than the edges 124. These top edges 126 are in position to extend through slots 128 (FIGURES 12 and 13) in the pallet platform. The portions of the leg 116,

which extend into the slots 128, prevent spreading of the upper ends of the leg. They do not support the platform but they do support any load on the platform which extends across the slots 128 because the edges 126 extend up to a level about flush with the top surface of the platform 16.

In place of the construction shown in FIGURES 12, 13, 14 and 15, where the leg 116 is originally a separate piece from the platform, the modified constructions of FIGURE 16 can be used.

In the construction shown in FIGURE 16, a leg 130 has panels 118' and 119 similar to the corresponding panels 118 and 119 of FIGURES 13, 14 and 15. At the upper edge of the panel 119', however, there is a tab 132, preferably extending for the full length of the leg 130, and this tab is stapled to the platform 16 by staples 134 so that the leg is connected to the platform when the pallet is supplied to a customer. The continuous tab 132 provides more choice in the location of the staples 134, but it will be understood that a discontinuous tab can be used in place of the tab 132, for example short lengths such as the tabs 122 of FIGURE 12.

Another difference in the construction shown in FIG URE 16 is that the panel 118' has tabs 136 at its upper end in position to contact with the bottom of the platform 16 for securing the panel 118 to the platform, if desired. Other portions of the panel 118' between the tabs 136, extend through slots 128 in the platform 16, as in FIG- URE 12. These tabs 136 are shown connected to the plat form 16 by staples 134, but they may extend through slots and across the top surface of the platform 16 (as in FIGURE 14) instead of across the bottom surface of the pallet.

FIGURE 17 shows a construction for pallet legs formed of material displaced from a pallet platform. This construction obtains added strength by having a bowed cross section for the panels when the leg is in set-up condition. A pallet 140 has a panel 142 displaced from it and bent downwardly along a bend line 144. This bend line is an arc and is preferably formed by scoring the material of the pallet along the line on which the bend is to be made. At the lower end of the panel 142, there is a short connecting panel 146 to which a third panel 148 is connected. The connecting panel 146 is joined to the panels 142 and 148 along bend lines 151 and 152, and these bend lines are preferably arcs.

FIGURE 18 is a sectional view at the center of the leg of FIGURE 17 formed by the panels 144, 146 and 148. In the construction illustrated, the bend lines 151 and 152 are tangent with one another at the center of the connecting panel 146; but toward opposite sides of the panels 144 and 148, these bend lines 151 and 152 are spaced from one another as shoWn in FIGURE 19.

The panel 148 has an upper edge 156 (FIGURE 17) which is flush with the top surface of the platform 140 when the panels are set up to form a leg for the pallet. Opposite end portions of the top edge 156 extend into grooves 160 for preventing transverse displacement of the panel 148 when in set-up condition.

Other top edges 162, of the panel 148, bear against the bottom of the platform 140; and tabs 164 extend through slots 166 and then outwardly across the top surface of the platform 140, as shown in FIGURES 18 and 19.

This construction shown in FIGURES 17-19, where the leg panels are curved when in set-up condition, is useful for imparting additional strength to pallets made of sheet material having a degree of flexibility, such as thin fiberboard, or plastic sheets, or metal. It is not suitable for multi-ply corrugated paperboard because bending such material to a curved contour will break the corrugations and seriously impair the strength of the material, unless made of single corrugated sheets.

FIGURES 20 and 21 show a modification of the construction shown in FIGURE 17. In this modified construction the leg panels are plane at their upper ends, when:

7 in set-up condition, but change to an arcuate contour as they extend downwardly. The parts in FIGURES 20 and 21, corresponding to those in FIGURES 17-19, are indicated by the same reference characters with a prime appended.

The bend line 144' is a straight line, but can be curved. The bend lines 151 and 152 are arcuate, as in FIGURE 17, but the arcs have their centers of curvature on opposite sides from that shown in FIGURE 17. It will be understood that the bend lines 151 and 152 in FIGURE 17 can be made as in FIGURE 20 with their maximum spacing from one another at their center regions; and it will be also understood that the bend lines 151' and 152 of FIG- URE 20 can be made with their curvature reversed.

FIGURE 21 shows a tab 164' extending in the opposite direction from the tab 164 of FIGURES 18 and 19. This is to illustrate that the tabs 164 and 164 may extend in either direction since they project through slots which have solid material on both sides for supporting the tabs.

FIGURES 22 and 23 show a different construction in which a pallet leg is formed of material displaced from the platform but with one side of the leg vertical and made of material folded back on itself. A platform 190 has panels 191, 192 and 193 displaced from it with the first panel 191 connected to the platform along a bend line 194. The panel 192 is connected with the panel along a bend line 196 and is preferably bent straight up, as shown in FIGURE 23, when the leg is set up. The last panel 193 is connected to the panel 192 along a bend line 198 at which the material is cut through most of its thickness from its upper end so as to permit the panel 193 to be folded straight down along the intermediate panel 192, thus making the vertical portion of the leg twice as thick as the angular portion formed by the panel 191.

In order to hold the parts in their set-.up condition, the last panel 193 has an upper edge 202 which fits into a slot 204, and there is a tab 206 which extends through an: other slot 208.

FIGURES 24 and 25 show another modified construction in which the pallet leg is formed entirely of vertical panels with the panels folded back and forth across one another to make a solid leg.

In FIGURE 24 a platform 210 has four panels displaced from it including a panel 212 which is connected to the platform 210 along a bend line 214, intermediate panels 216 and 218, and an end panel 220. The panel 216 is connected to the panel 212 along a bend line 222, and is connected to the next panel 218 along a bend line 224.

The end panel 220 is connected to the panel 218 along a bend line 226; and it has an upper edge 228 with end portions that fit into slots 230. Locking tabs 234 extend through other slots 236 in the platform 210.

FIGURE 25 shows the panels of FIGURE 24 in setup condition. The panel 212 extends downwardly and there is sufiicient material crushed or removed at the bend line 222 to permit the intermediate panel 216 to be folded back along the panel 212. At the bend line 224, the material is cut through far enough to permit a 180 bend so that the second intermediate panel 218 can fold downwardly along the panel 216; and there is suflicient material crushed or removed at the other bend line 226 to permit the end panel 220 to be folded upwardly along the intermediate panel 218.

The portions of the intermediate panels 216 and 218, which are at the top of the leg when the leg is set up, are made wide enough to extend into the slots 230 in the illustrated construction; but the pallet can be made with only the end panel 220 wide enough to extend into the slots 230 for holding the other panels crowded into their folded positions, as in FIGURE 25.

FIGURES 26 and 27 show another modified construction which is similar to that shown in FIGURES 24 and 25 except that the end panels are not folded against the intermediate panels but are positioned so as to slope.

Corresponding parts in FIGURES 26 and 27 are indicated by the same reference characters as in FIGURES 24 and 25 but with a prime appended. Because of the slope of the panels 212 and 220', they must be longer than the intermediate panels 216' and 218 in order to have the upper edges of all of these panels in the plane of the top of the platform 16.

The slot 230 is spaced farther from the bend line 214' in FIGURE 26- so as to provide a slope for the panel 212. The slot 230 is narrower than the slot 230- of FIG- URES 24 and 25 because it confines only two thicknesses of material instead of three thicknesses. Also, the slots 236 are located farther from the bend line 214 than in the corresponding construction of FIGURES 24 and 25 so as to provide a slope for the panel 220.

FIGURES 28-31 show another modified construction in which a pallet platform 250 is supported by legs 252 which are separate from the platform 250 and which extend lengthwise of the platform for a substantial distance. Only a portion of the platform 250 is shown in the drawing and only one leg 252 is shown. It will be understood that there are other legs extending parallel to the leg 252. In some constructions the leg 252 extends for substantially the full length of the platform 250 and this is the preferred construction; but for very long platforms, it may be more convenient for assembly to have the leg 252 extend only part of the length of the platform and to have a similar leg in alignment with the first leg 252 extending for the remaining length of the platform.

The leg 252 has a left hand panel 254 and a right hand panel 256. These panels are joined at their lower ends and in the construction illustrated the connection is of substantial width, but it can be a simple V connection as shown in some of the previous figures. However, the

advantage of the construction illustrated in FIGURE 30 is that the bottom of the leg 252 has greater width and is suitable for use on roller conveyors where the lower end of the leg must have sufficient width to span the distance between sucessive rollers of the conveyor.

The construction shown in FIGURE 30 is obtained by providing parallel score lines 258 and 259 at the lower ends of the panels 254 and 256, respectively. There is also a center score line 260 along which the material of the leg 252 is cut for a portion of its thickness. The material is preferably cut for a portion of its thickness along the lines 258 and 259 also; particularly when the leg 252 is made of multi-ply, corrugated paperboard. With such material the cutting through part of the thickness of the material at the score lines 258, 259 and 260 permits an advantageous compression of the material at the bends in order to obtain abrupt changes in the direction of extent of the panels and to obtain fiat surfaces of the panels.

For example, when the leg 252 is bent from itsflat condition, shown in FIGURE 29, to its working position, shown in FIGURE 30, the material bends more easily and more abruptly along the score lines 258 and 259 by virtue of the cuts extending part way through the material at these score lines and as the panels 254 and 256 are bent upwardly, along these score lines 258 and 25 9, the material in the connection 262 between the scorelines 258 and 259 is compressed and with the cut at the line 260, the material can spread at the center of the connection 262, as shown in FIGURE 30, to permit the necessary compression at the score lines 258 and 259 to obtain a sharp bend at the junction of the panels 254 and 256 with the connection 262. This also results in a flat bottom surface for the connection 262 so that the load on the bottom of the leg 252 is more evenly distributed.

The platform 250 has two different kinds of openings for receiving upper edge portions of the panel 254. There are openings 266 which receive tabs 268 of the leg, and there are other openings 270 which receive projections 272 at the upper edge of the panel 254.

The length of the slot 266 is slightly greater or at least equal to the maximum width of the tab 268 so that the tab can be inserted through the slot 266. However, the full length of the slot 266 extends for only a portion of its width. The center portion of the slot 266 has an offset 274 which is much shorter than the maximum width of the tab 268. There is a locking panel 276 connected to the platform 250 along a hinge line 278. This locking panel 276 is formed of material displaced from the slot 266. The locking panel 27 6 is long enough to extend across the portion of the slot 266 which is as long as the maximum width of the tab 268. The locking panel 276 terminates some distance from the end of the offset 274 so as to leave a clearance for the tab 278 to extend through the opening 266 when the locking panel 276 is flush with the remaining surface of the platform 250.

The tab 268 has a neck portion 280' which is of a sizeto fit into the offset 274, and it is held against displacement from the offset 274 by the locking tab 268, as shown in FIGURE 30. When the tab 268 is originally inserted through the opening 266, the locking panel 276 is displaced into the dotted line position, shown in FIGURE 30, so as to permit the tab 268 to pass upwardly through the portion of the opening 266 which is of maximum length.

The wide upper portion of the tab 268 is flattened and is bent over as indicated at the location 282 so that a load on the platform 250 holds the upper portion of the tab 268 against the top of the platform and provides additional insurance against the leg pulling loose from the platform. If desired, the upper end of the tab 268 can be secured by adhesive to the platform 250 at the location 282. It will be understood that the thickness of the material in the sectional views of the drawings is exaggerated for purposes of clearer illustration and in practice the length of the tabs and panels are greater in proportion to their thickness than is indicated in the drawing.

The projection 272 at the upper end of the panel 254 extends into the slot 270, as shown in FIGURE 30 and this projection 272 above the remaining upper edge of the panel 254 is of a height equal to the thickness of the platform 250. Thus the upper edge of the projection 272 is substantially flush with the top surface of the platform 250 when the upper edge of the panel 254 beyond the projection 272 is hearing against the bottom surface of the platform 250.

Any load on the platform which comes in contact with the top of the projection 272 is transmited directly to the leg 252; but the important purpose of the projection 272 is to provide lateral strength for bracing the leg 252 against transverse loads such as occur when the pallet is in transit and there is a shifting sideways of the truck or other vehicle in which the pallet is being shipped. It will be understood that the construction at the upper end of both of the panels 254 and 256 is preferably the same.

FIGURES 29 and 31 show a special construction which may be used at the ends of the leg 252. The panels 254 and 256 are separate from one another along a cut 286 where the connection between the panels is removed. The panels have other cuts 287 and 288 where they are severed for some distance from the remainder of the panels; and there are score lines 291, 292 which each of the panels 254 and 256 are bent upwardly in order to form two short legs each of which has its top portion 296 in contact with the bottom of the platform 250. These short double legs at the ends of the elongated legs 252 provide surfaces by which the platform can be lifted by the bars of a boat sling which are brought under the platform in a direction transverse of the longitudinal extent of the legs 252.

FIGURE 32 shows a modified construction for the opening through which the tab 268 is inserted. In place of the opening 266 there is an opening 296 which is of somewhat different shape from the opening 266 of FIG- URE 28. This opening 296, in FIGURE 32, has a portion which is of a length somewhat greater than the maximum width of the tab 268 and it has an offset 298 which is shorter than the maximum width of the tab 268 and which and 293 along receives the neck portion 280 of the tab. This offset 298 is preferably of a width substantially equal to the thickness of the material of which the neck 280 is made, and if the neck 280- is compressed, as shown in FIGURE 30, then the width of the offset 298 is only slightly greater than the compressed thickness of the neck portion 280. There are two locking panels 301 and 302 connected to the platform 250 along hinge lines 304. These locking panels 301 and 302 swing upwardly about the hinge lines 304 to permit the tab 268 to pass upwardly through the opening 296; and when the tab 268 is then sprung sideways to bring its neck portion 280 into the offset 298, the locking panels 301 and 302 are free to move downwardly again into the original positions flush with the top surface of the platform 250.

FIGURE 33 shows another construction which is similar to FIGURE 32 except that there is a single locking tab 301' connected with the platform 250 along a hinge line 304' and this locking tab 301' is long enough to serve in place of the two tabs 301 and 302 of FIGURE 32. The opening through the platform 250 in FIGURE 33 is indicated by the reference character 296' and the offset by the reference character 298'. The tab 268 is the same in FIGURE 33 as in FIGURE 32 and it has the same neck portion 280.

The hinge line 278 in FIGURE 28, the hinge lines 304 in FIGURE 32 and the hinge line 304 in FIGURE 33 are preferably spaced far enough back so that when the tab 268 displaces the locking panels and causing them to swing about the hinge lines, the displacement is not sufficient to break the material at the hinge lines. Thus the resilience of the platform material at the hinge lines will cause the locking tabs to return at least part way to their original positions and will permit the locking tabs to be pushed back into positions flush with the top of the platform 250 so that they perform their locking functions without having to have any special means for holding them in position.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, but changes and modifications can be made and some features can be used in different combinations without departing from the invention as defined in the claims.

What is clamed is:

there being an opening in the platform of substantial width and in position to receive the extending portion of the top edge whereby said first portion can contact with a load which is on the pallet and which spans said opening, a second, portion of the top edge of each panel along ashort length of the top edge extending above the rest of the edge by a distance substantially greater than the thickness of the platform and forming a tab at the top of the leg panel, said tab being bent along its connection to the leg panel and extending across an area of the platform in a direction transverse of the direction of extent of the top edge of the leg panel, and each of the leg panels having a third portion of less height than the first and second portions for contact with the under surface of the pallet between openings.

2. An industrial pallet including a platform having openings therethrough, each of said openings having a relatively long portion and a shorter offset portion on one side of the long portion but opening into the long portion, a leg supporting the platform and having tabs that extend through the openings, each of the tabs having an upper end portion wider than the shorter offset portion of the opening but narrow enough to pass through the relatively long portion of the opening, and a neck of the tab narrow enough to fit into the short offset portion of the opening after the wider portion of the tab has been inserted all the way through the long portion of the opening and the tab has been shifted transversely into the shorter offset portion.

3. The industrial pallet described in claim 2 characterized by a locking panel connected to the platform by a hinged connection and extending across the relatively long portion of each opening into position to retain the neck of the tab in the offset portion of the opening.

4. The industrial pallet described in claim 3 characterized by the locking panel being made of material displaced from the opening through the platform but said panel remaining connected to the platform along a line at one side of the panel, and the panel being made of material that will flex to provide the hinged connection between the locking panel and the platform.

5. The industrial pallet described in claim 4 characterized by the hinge connection of the locking panel to the platform being along a line parallel to the long dimension of the opening through the platform and being on the side of the opening opposite the offset portion of the opening and being spaced back some distance from the long portion of the opening, but the locking panel being long enough to extend at least part way across said long portion of the opening.

6. The industrial pallet described in claim 4 characterized by the platform leg being made of multi-ply, corrugated paperboard.

7. An industrial pallet having a platform with openings therein, a plurality of legs each of which includes two panels hinged together at their lower ends to form a lower end of the leg for supporting the platform, from an underlying surface, at least one of the panels having an upper edge with a tab that extends through an opening in the platform and that is bent over at its end portion parallel to the plane of the platform and in contact with the platform, the platform having a slot therein at the upper edge of at least one panel, the slot extending in a direction substantially parallel to the hinge and being of a width, throughout the length of the slot, substantially equal to the thickness of the panel for receiving the upper edge portion of the panel along a part thereof that extends higher than other parts of the upper edge portion by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the platform whereby the upper edge in the slot can contact with a load on the platform and spanning the slot, and the sides of the slot hold the load-contacting upper edge against bowing by movement in directions transverse of the extent of the hinge connection between the lower ends of the panels.

8. The industrial pallet described in claim 7 characterized by each leg being made from a different piece of material from the platform and both of the leg panels having upper edges with tabs for extending through openings in the platform, upper-edge portions between the upper openings for contact with the bottom of the platform, and other parts of the upper edge portions for extending into slots in the platform for a distance, substantially equal to the thickness of the platform, above the edge portions that contact with the bottom of the platform, said platform having an opening and slots therein for receiving the tabs and upper edge portions, respectively.

9. The industrial pallet described in claim 8 characterized by the tabs having necks below their upper ends to provide shoulders where the width of the tab abruptly decreases, and the openings in the platform through which the tabs extend having offset side portions that receive the necks but that are shorter than the width of the tab beyond the shoulders whereby the shoulders prevent the tab from coming back through the opening in the platform after the neck is pushed into the offset portion of the opening.

10. An industrial pallet having a platform, a plurality of legs supporting the platform and extending parallel to one another, each of the legs including two panels converging toward one another as they extend downward and connected together at the lower ends, and portions at opposite ends of the legs where the panels are not connected together and where each panel is folded inward and upward at a line intermediate at upper and lower ends to form a U-shaped leg of much less height than the height of the rest of the leg for supporting the pallet from the forks of a lift truck when the forks extend transversely of the length of the legs.

11. The industrial pallet described in claim 1 characterized by the leg being continuous along most of the length of the pallet and there being duplicate first, second and third portions of the top edges on both panels of the leg at longitudinally spaced locations along each panel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 633,360 9/1899 Ferres 229-87 1,113,538 10/1914 Brancher 248-174 1,605,901 11/1926 ONeil 206- 2,139,845 12/1938 Neely 229-30 2,240,024 4/1941 Stone et al 108-115 2,471,536 5/1949 Nichols 248459 2,744,713 5/ 1956 DeViller 108-115 2,758,776 8/1956 Ellstrom 229-23 2,908,464 10/1959 Tradudt 108-5'6 3,004,742 10/1961 Davidson 108-56 3,092,046 6/1963 Davidson 108-56 3,099,969 8/1963 Davidson 108-56 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,311,981 11/1962 France.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Examiner.

G. O. FINCH, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,351,028 November 7, 1967 Louis Davidson It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 12 line 27 for "U-shaped" read W-shaped Signed and sealed this 7th day of January 1969.

(SEAL) Attqst:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Edward M. Fletcher, J r.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer 

1. AN INDUSTRIAL PALLET COMPRISING A PLATFORM, LEGS CONSTRUCTED OF MATERIAL OTHER THAN MATERIAL DISPLACED FROM THE PLATFORM AND SUPPORTING THE PLATFORM AND EACH OF WHICH COMPRISES TWO PANELS HINGED TOGETHER AT THEIR LOWER ENDS ALONG A HINGE REGION THAT CONTACTS WITH AN UNDERLYING SUPPORTING SURFACE, EACH OF THE PANELS HAVING A TOP EDGE WITH ONE PORTION ALONG A FIRST PORTION OF THE LENGTH OF THE EDGE EXTENDING ABOVE THE REST OF THE EDGE BY A DISTANCE EQUAL TO THE THICKNESS OF THE PLATFORM, THERE BEING AN OPENING IN THE PLATFROM OF SUBSTANTIAL WIDTH AND IN POSITION TO RECEIVE THE EXTENDING PORTION OF THE TOP EDGE WHEREBY SAID FIRST PORTION CAN CONTACT WITH A LOAD WHICH IS ON THE PALLET AND WHICH SPANS SAID OPENING, A SECOND, PORTION OF THE TOP EDGE OF EACH PANEL ALONG A SHORT LENGTH OF THE TOP EDGE EXTENDING ABOVE THE REST OF THE EDGE BY A DISTANCE SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE THICKNESS OF THE PLATFORM AND FORMING A TAB AT THE TOP OF THE LEG PANEL, SAID TAB BEING BENT ALONG ITS CONNECTION TO THE LEG PANEL AND EXTENDING ACROSS AN AREA OF THE PLATFORM IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE OF THE DIRECTION OF EXTENT OF THE TOP EDGE OF THE LEG PANEL, AND EACH OF THE LEG PANELS HAVING A THIRD PORTION OF LESS HEIGHT THAN THE FIRST AND SECOND PORTIONS FOR CONTACT WITH THE UNDER SURFACE OF THE PALLET BETWEEN OPENINGS. 